5 Essential DevOps Interview Questions

DevOps is a set of practices that combine software development and IT operations. Over 80% of IT leaders say their organizations are adopting DevOps practices. Skilled DevOps engineers are in high demand. Google, Facebook and other top-tier firms are clamoring for top talent, driving the DevOps annual average salary to $126,600 in the United States. The market size crossed the $4 billion mark in 2019, and job prospects remain bright.

Although demand for DevOps professionals is growing, tech recruiters struggle to identify the best talent. This article looks at five top interview questions and answers for DevOps, the rationale for asking them and the desired responses from candidates. These questions uncover technical expertise, problem-solving approaches and interpersonal skills. Using these questions and the effective situation, task, action and result, or STAR framework as a roadmap, hiring managers can evaluate candidates and find excellent talent.

Methodology for Answering Interview Questions for DevOps Professionals

When interviewing DevOps engineers, the STAR interview method is useful for evaluating candidates. STAR allows for structured and detailed responses that focus on a candidate’s experience with specific DevOps tools and practices. The candidate starts with a problematic situation and then highlights their assigned tasks. They outline the action they took to address the challenge and state the outcome. STAR assesses for problem-solving, communication skills and expertise. It’s helpful for DevOps roles that require a blend of soft and technical skills. 

1. What Is DevOps and Why Is It Important?

DevOps is a combination of practices, cultural philosophies and tools that upscale an organization’s ability to deliver services and applications quickly. 

Why Interviewers Should Ask This Question

What interviewers seek to understand is whether the candidate has foundational knowledge and passion for DevOps. This question helps them gauge the candidate’s understanding of how DevOps impacts software development lifecycles and business outcomes. The hiring manager can ask this question to get the candidate’s perspective on DevOps in modern software development.

What to Expect from the Candidate

Strong candidates will provide a clear definition of DevOps. Expected answers should also cover:

• An explanation of how DevOps bridges development and operations.
• Examples of DevOps benefits such as faster time to market and improved collaboration.
• Key DevOps practices, such as continuous integration and delivery.

Vague responses or the inability to articulate the benefits of DevOps are red flags.

2. Explain the Concept of Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery in DevOps

Continuous integration and continuous delivery are practices that ensure fast and reliable software delivery. 

Why Interviewers Should Ask This Question

This question gauges the candidate’s practical knowledge of DevOps implementation. It provides a better idea of their understanding of automation in software development cycles and whether they can articulate CI/CD tools and practices.

What to Expect from the Candidate

A good answer should offer a clear definition of CI/CD tools, and the candidate should share examples of how they use the tools. Look for the following in the response:

• Explanation of how CI/CD improves software development and deployment.
• Discussion of challenges and best practices in implementing CI/CD.
• Benefits of implementing CI/CD in DevOps.
• Common CI/CD tools, such as Jenkins, GitLab CI and CircleCI.

In addition, the candidate should mention CI/CD best practices. These include:

• Source composition analysis to identify risky dependencies.
• Static application security testing to identify risky code.
• Dynamic application security testing to identify runtime errors and edge cases.
• Runtime application self-protection for runtime security measures.
• Container misconfiguration scanning.

3. How Do You Approach Configuration Management in DevOps?

Configuration management helps organizations cut costs, adhere to regulations and enhance security.

Why Interviewers Should Ask This Question

Asking this question reveals the candidate’s understanding of DevOps configuration management principles. It tests their knowledge of configuration management tools and practices. The hiring manager can evaluate the candidate’s ability to implement and maintain a consistent and scalable infrastructure. 

What to Expect from the Candidate

A strong candidate should respond with the following points:

• A clear explanation of configuration within the DevOps context.
• The importance of configuration management.
• Examples of popular configuration management tools.
• An explanation of how to implement configuration in the real world.
• Best practices for configuration management.

A lack of practical experience with configuration management tools or an inability to explain the benefits of configuration management are red flags.

4. Describe Your Experience with Containerization and Orchestration Tools Such as Docker and Kubernetes

Containerization and orchestration tools allows software developers to create, update and deploy applications quickly. 

Why Interviewers Should Ask This Question

What you’re seeking is to better understand the candidate’s knowledge of containerization and orchestration. They can also learn whether the candidate can implement and manage containerized applications and complex distributed systems.

What to Expect from the Candidate

The hiring manager can expect the candidate to define containerization and state its benefits. A strong candidate should also talk about their Docker experience and showcase their understanding of the following:

• Kubernetes concepts. 
• The benefits of containerization and its use case. 
• Specific examples of using these tools in DevOps workflows.
• The latest developments in containerization and orchestration.
• The importance of container security scanning tools in modern DevOps practices.

5. How Do You Approach Monitoring and Logging in a DevOps Environment?

DevOps professionals often use logs and metrics to gain insights into a system’s behavior and performance. 

Why Interviewers Should Ask This Question

This question gives the hiring manager an insight into the candidate’s understanding of observability in DevOps. It evaluates their knowledge of monitoring and logging tools and their ability to implement effective monitoring strategies.

What to Expect from the Candidate

The candidate should explain the importance of monitoring and logging in DevOps. Responses should include monitoring and logging tools such as Prometheus, ELK Stack and Grafana. They should also cover:

• Key metrics to monitor in a DevOps environment.
• Best practices for implementing monitoring and logging.
• Effective monitoring and logging strategies.
• Importance of alerting mechanisms and defining clear thresholds.

Find the Right DevOps Expert for Your Team

Asking the right interview questions for DevOps can help organizations find tech professionals who drive innovation and efficiency. These interview questions effectively evaluate candidates’ collaboration, automation and continuous improvement abilities.

Key takeaways:

• The demand for DevOps is soaring, with professionals earning $136,000 on average annually. 
• Recruiters can effectively assess for technical expertise using the STAR method.
• Candidates should show they understand fundamental DevOps concepts, tools and best practices.
• It’s important to assess for CI/CD, as this underpins service availability.

Using the STAR methodology provides deeper insights into candidates’ understanding of DevOps. For expert advice or help with technical recruitment, contact the Dice team.

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